Lithuanian official dismisses claims of NATO’s Baltic abandonment as disinformation

Claims that former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg proposed handing the Baltic states to Russia as a “buffer zone” in 2021 are false and part of a disinformation campaign, Lithuania’s presidential advisor on national security said Friday.

Deividas Matulionis, a former Lithuanian ambassador to NATO, rejected the allegations in an interview with LRT Radio, responding to a review of Stoltenberg’s upcoming memoir published by The Baltic Sentinel. The review suggested Stoltenberg had admitted to offering Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a withdrawal of NATO forces from Eastern Europe to 1997 positions—effectively abandoning 12 member states, including the Baltics.

Matulionis called the claims “another piece of disinformation,” clarifying that Russia had issued ultimatums in late 2021 demanding NATO roll back its presence in countries that joined after 1997. “This was Russia’s ultimatum, not a subject of discussion,” he stated. “NATO’s North Atlantic Council prepared a response, and the Secretary General categorically rejected these demands as equivalent to NATO’s capitulation.”

While Stoltenberg’s memoir acknowledges proposing dialogue with Russia over buffer zones—despite opposition from Poland and the Baltics—Matulionis stressed this did not imply acceptance of Moscow’s terms. “He agreed to talk, but that doesn’t mean he considered the idea acceptable,” he said, adding that Stoltenberg may have hoped diplomacy could deter Russia’s eventual invasion of Ukraine.

The advisor also noted that NATO operates by consensus, making any unilateral concession impossible. “Four or twelve affected countries would never agree to such a decision,” he said. The claims, he suggested, serve Russia’s narrative by falsely implying internal NATO divisions.

Stoltenberg’s book states he supported new NATO-Russia Council meetings to discuss buffer zones, acknowledging that Eastern members saw them as undermining their defense. However, he argued that past geographic military agreements between NATO and Russia had succeeded in reducing tensions.

Russia’s 2021 ultimatum had demanded NATO halt eastward expansion, ban military activity in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and withdraw all forces from post-1997 members. NATO rejected these as incompatible with its principles. Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.